Burrton boys fall to Tigers

Friday

Mar 8, 2013 at 4:42 AMMar 8, 2013 at 4:42 AM

By Mark Schnabel?Newton Kansan

EMPORIA — The Burrton High School boys’ basketball team fell too far behind too early, spending the rest of the game trying to catch up before falling to top-seeded St. John-Hudson 68-44 Thursday in the Class 1A, Division I state tournament at White Auditorium in Emporia.?St. John-Hudson, 23-1, advances to today’s semifinals.?“They are a lot more physical than we were used to,” Burrton coach Tyler Hoopes said. “We got out of our offense and started to freelance a little bit. We had 14 turnovers in the first half. We only average about 11 a game. That’s a credit to them.”?Burrton finishes the season 10-14. The Chargers entered state on a five-game winning streak, winning seven of the last nine games.. Burrton was the fifth and lowest seed in sub-state, but beat the fourth, first and third seeds to advance to the state tournament.?“This has been a great run for us to get to state,” Hoopes said. “We finished the season as a much better team than we started. We improved every week, and that’s all you can ask.”?Nathan Harper led Burrton with 22 points, hitting six of nine 3-pointers. Trae Lane added 10 points.?“Nathan shot the ball very well,” Hoopes said. “He got hot tonight. He can shoot like than when he’s on.”?St. John-Hudson was led by Dean Wade with 19 points. Ethan Long and Zuriel Reyes added 12 points each. Spencer Nuss scored 10 points.?St. John jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first four minutes of play. Burrton had six turnovers and just two shots taken in the span. Burrton finished the quarter with 10 turnovers, trailing 19-7.?The Tigers struggled with turnovers in the second quarter, allowing Burrton to draw within six. St. John responded with a 10-0 run to lead 32-16 at the half.?Wade scored five points in the first minute of the third quarter. Burrton trailed 51-28 at the end of the period.?Burrton opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run. The Tigers replied with a 6-0 run.?Burrton loses three seniors — Trae Lane, Ruben Flores and Mats Kaiser.?“The team has started to gel,” Hoopes said. “We just need to work on our game in the summer. We need to get a lot stronger.”